Samira Makhmalbaf's Darkness and Light: At Five in the Afternoon

Iranian filmmaker Samara Makhmalbaf's At Five in the Afternoon employs a striking interplay between darkness and light in its depiction of life for a young Afghani woman in the aftermath of September 11. Julie Clarke charts the use of such contrasts in the film, and their recurrence in Makhmalbaf's work generally and in related cinema.